San Antonio's Tony Parker and Gregg Popovich may be the NBA's best point guard-coach duo./AP Photo

The debate is finally going to be settled where it should be settled – on the court.

Chris Paul and Tony Parker are considered two of the top five point guards in the NBA along with Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Rajon Rondo.

Some say they’re the top two. They’re generals in their own way.

Paul leads and motivates the Los Angeles Clippers with an iron hand, is the mayor of Lob City and closes games with great decision making and precision.

Parker leads and motivates the San Antonio Spurs with flair and creativity, gets to the rim at will and leads an offense that is arguably the most potent in the NBA.

The question is which one will do more to help their team get one step closer to the NBA Finals?

Will that ultimately determine who’s better? No, but people can use the results of this series as a barometer to pick one over the other.

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(1). San Antonio Spurs (50-16)

1st round foe: (8) Utah Jazz (36-30)

Biggest concern vs. Jazz: With big boys Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, Utah can cause the Spurs problems in the paint.

Last 10: 10-0 (Won 10)

Strengths: The hottest team in the NBA, the Spurs have great chemistry, Tony Parker is playing at a very high level and they’ve got one of game’s best coaches in Gregg Popovich.

Weaknesses: Still wondering if this regular-season success is a product of the schedule? Are they really as good as they appear to be? What happens if Parker gets in foul trouble early?

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With the Erie BayHawks now in an 1-on-1 hybrid affiliation partnership with the New York Knicks, let’s take a look at some of the latest news involving the Knicks.

1. Despite DWI, MSG hires Dedes as Knicks radio voice.

2. New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni meets with Mike Woodson about joining club: Reports.

3. Knicks best fit for Paul?

4. Is Amar’e Stoudemire Getting Carried Away with the Fashion Thing?

5. Knicks owner James Dolan sings, poorly

The Cleveland Cavaliers will likely draft Duke freshman Kyrie Irving in Thursday’s NBA Draft. ESPN is reporting that the Cavs are committed to doing so.

I understand the reasoning.

It’s a PG league.

Point guards are needed because a lot of the better teams have quality ones. Chicago has 2010-11 NBA MVP Derrick Rose. Oklahoma City has Russell Westbrook. Memphis has Mike Conley. Boston has Rajon Rondo. New Orleans has Chris Paul.

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Can NBA veteran Chauncey Billups hit big shots in the Big Apple? The New York Knicks sure hope so. /AP Photo

The New York Knicks are getting more than just NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony in this three-team, multi-player trade that went down today.

They’re getting Mr. Big Shot – NBA vet point guard Chauncey Billups – from the Denver Nuggets.

The Knicks gave up some good players, but everyone on their team other than Amare Stoudemire was fair game.

What the Knicks are besides one of the game’s best in Anthony is a guy who can hit big shots in Billups. In the playoffs, the game slows down to execution in the half court and that’s more up Billups’ alley. He’s not the complete pick-and-roll player for Stoudemire like Steve Nash was, but Billups can play off the pick-and-roll, catch a pass on the wing and nail the deep jump shot.

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Like the first digit of his jersey number, Kentucky freshman point guard John Wall is the top player entering the NBA Draft.

Can five players from one school all wind up being lottery picks in the same year?

John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Daniel Orton and Eric Bledsoe sure think so.

They each left the University of Kentucky this year for the NBA Draft, which is next month.

All five are NBA talents and many experts say all five will go in the first round.

The question I have is will Wall, Cousins, Patterson, Orton and Bledsoe be lottery picks. A lottery pick is someone taken in the first 14 picks of the draft.

We all know the 6-foot-4 Wall, who is blessed with tremendous talent, will be the first overall pick. Unless he gets hurt or the Washington Wizards know something the rest of us don’t, they will take Wall with the first overall pick.

Unless you got Kobe Bryant, point guard play is paramount in the NBA. Just see how Rajon Rondo has made Boston a legit title contender.

Didn’t Rondo go to UK too?

So let’s assume the Wizards draft Wall, where would the other four guys fit in the remaining 13 picks in the draft. Let’s take a look.

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Rajon Rondo has had his way with Cleveland's guards so far in this Eastern Conference semifinals series.

This is guy is not Derrick Rose or Chris Paul.

He’s not Deron Williams or Steve Nash, either.

What Rajon Rondo is, though, is a guy the Cleveland Cavaliers better figure out or else the Boston Celtics are going to make them sweat this series to the brinking point.

Rondo had 29 points, 18 rebounds (he’s 6-foot-1 folks) and 13 assists in Boston’s 97-87 home win to even this Eastern Conference semifinals series at 2-2.  Game 5 is Tuesday in Cleveland, Game 6 is Thursday in Boston and if there is a Game 7, it will be Sunday in Cleveland.

Honestly, Cleveland doesn’t have any guards who can check Rondo. So the Cavaliers have to either one, figure Rondo can’t continue playing that way or two, make him score 40 and shut everyone else down.

Well, Cleveland does have a third option.

Push the pace. Get it in the 100s. Make the older Celtics keep up with them.

“I’m trying to do everything I can in my power to beat the Jazz. But, at the end of the day, I need some help. I’m not sitting here pointing fingers or nothing. But as a unit, we’ve got to do this together. I can’t do this by myself.” – Carmelo Anthony after Sunday’s Game 4 loss in Utah.

When Carmelo Anthony scored 40 points including the game winner to beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers back in February, the Denver Nuggets were title contenders.

He should be frustrated.

There was a time when the Denver Nuggets were a clear-cut championship contender. After their win in Cleveland, 118-116, this season in February to end a 13-game win streak for the Cavaliers, I was convinced the Nuggets were good enough to win a title.

Now they’re down 3-1 to the Utah Jazz in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs and Carmelo Anthony is looking for answers.

Correction. He’s looking for help.

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Anything less than a world championship is what LeBron James has been saying since Cleveland lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 NBA Finals. Is this year James and the Cavaliers win it all?

Get your popcorn ready.

The NBA Playoffs are here.

I’ll be in Cleveland checking out the top-seeded Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The eighth-seeded Detroit Pistons don’t seem to have much of a chance in this best-of-7 first-round series, but then again, this is the playoffs.

So let’s go through each first-round series and see how they should shake out.

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